N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 9, § 5.47 – Executive Order No. 47: Destruction of Surplus State Firearms.*

1. State agencies shall not dispose of unneeded, used or surplus firearms through trades in exchange for new State firearms.
2. At least once each year and as frequently as practicable, all such firearms shall be transferred to the Division of State Police and shall be promptly destroyed or otherwise rendered permanently inoperative.
3. The Superintendent of State Police shall develop and implement policies and procedures consistent with law for the receipt, handling and destruction of these weapons.
Signed: George E. Pataki Dated: December 16, 1996

WHEREAS, public safety and trust demand that State-owned firearms be disposed of with the utmost care and concern for the safety and welfare of the citizens of New York State;

WHEREAS, under current practice surplus or used State firearms commonly are traded in as part payment for new firearms purchases;

WHEREAS, because this practice results in the return of these weapons to the commercial gun market, it creates an unacceptable risk that they may be possessed and used unlawfully;

WHEREAS, the small fiscal savings that result from this practice are far outweighed by the need to ensure that firearms previously owned by the State never be turned against the very citizens for whose protection they had been acquired;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE E. PATAKI, Governor of the State of New York, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and Laws of the State of New York, do hereby order that: